COLUMN: Getting value out of your tight end pick

Each week, I've examined a fantasy football position with finding bargain picks in mind.

We've covered running backs, wide receivers and quarterbacks already. Now only one of the four offensive positions remains: tight ends.

Tight ends are sort of the black sheep of the typical fantasy squad. Truly elite tight ends — the Jimmy Grahams and Rob Gronkowskis of the world — are extremely few and far between. The drop-off between the top one or two elites and the rest is pretty significant, and if you don't get one of those top few, it's easy to place less importance on your tight end.

That, however, is a mistake. Perhaps more so than at any other position, identifying sleepers and value picks at tight end can make a huge difference for your squad. Sure, most tight ends don't put up huge numbers, but if you can snag one late in your draft who consistently puts up more points than the other guys, those solid numbers will add up week to week.

So, without further ado, here are two tight ends who could give you serious pick value.

• Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins: Reed is entering his sophomore season with the Redskins, who are coming of a pretty awful 2013 season. But Reed was a relative bright spot for Washington in his rookie season, and his reportedly good relationship with the now healthy Robert Griffin III means he could easily improve on his 2013 stat line.

Reed isn't quite elite, but he stands a good chance of being a trusty fantasy starter at tight end. His average draft position compared to other tight ends within a point or two of his projected points totals — guys like Jason Witten, Jordan Cameron and Dennis Pitta — is strangely low for a guy predicted to be a top-8 fantasy player. In most drafts, he's still kicking around in the seventh round.

If Reed is around that late, you could do far worse with your seventh round pick than a solid starting tight end.

• Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles: The high-powered Philadelphia offense lost a great weapon in DeSean Jackson, but that just means more targets — including in the red zone — to the rest of the Eagles' passing attack.

Enter Zach Ertz.

His ADP has him going in the 14th (!) round on average — astoundingly late for a tight end with so much upside. Eagles head coach Chip Kelly has expressed his desire to use Ertz heavily in the passing game to help make up for the loss of Jackson. If the coach wants to get him the ball, Ertz will get plenty of chances to shine.

Should we expect unbelievable, Graham-like numbers from Ertz? Nope. Should we expect more value for your pick than just about any other tight end you could pick in the 12th round or later? Almost certainly. Getting a serviceable starter that late — one that isn't a kicker or a defense — is bound to be a steal.